Exclusive | British diplomat says BN(O) visa scheme for Hongkongers to stay at least until 2025 UK election
- Consul General Brian Davidson stresses London’s ‘absolute commitment’ to policy but admits he cannot make any pledges that extend beyond coming poll
- He dismisses suggestion migration scheme to blame for brain drain from city, saying it could be result of many factors
Britain is committed to keeping its migration pathway open to Hongkongers, British Consul General Brian Davidson has told the Post but without confirming if the scheme would continue beyond 2025.
To commit to whether the bespoke policy would last beyond 2025, after Britain’s next general election, would be “a bit of crystal-ball gazing”, he said.
Brushing aside the suggestion that the scheme was to blame for a brain drain from the city in recent years, Davidson said it was entirely up to the Hong Kong government to attract its people back.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a speech last week that the BN(O) migration pathway was a reaction to Beijing’s dismantling of Hong Kong’s freedoms, although he also called for a “robust and constructive” relationship with the central government.
In an interview with the Post, Davidson said the pathway “exists and the pathway will continue to exist”.